Sylvester Brown Shares What's Possible 'When We Listen'

Sylvester Brown discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday's "St. Louis on the Air" with host Don Marsh.

Credit Evie Hemphill | St. Louis Public Radio

Seven years ago, writer and community activist Sylvester Brown founded the Sweet Potato Project in north St. Louis to promote urban farming and provide entrepreneurial skills to underserved youth. Brown’s involvement in the project has now led to his newly released book “When We Listen: Recognizing The Potential of Urban Youth.”

“Working with young, black kids for the past seven years has exposed me to the hard truths and long-lasting effects of generational poverty, hunger, homelessness, psychic trauma, low sense of self, lack of all-encompassing love and more,” Brown said in a press release. “This was the motivation for writing this book.”

Brown, who is a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist, discussed his vision for engaging area young people on Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air with host Don Marsh.